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  #21  
Old 11-22-2018, 09:54 PM
Guy McDude Guy McDude is offline
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Default Re: 2018 MacMini experiment on ProTools HDX

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Originally Posted by ::F-L-E-X:: View Post
Interesting thread...

Khoop - wondered if you've considered or tried an alternative to the Blackmagic eGPU? Seems like something like this would work in your Sonnet Echo :

http://www.macvidcards.com/store/p11...Pro_6%2C1.html

Although this solution seems to be aimed at the nMP 2013, can't see why it wouldn't work with the TB3 Mini also?



Hi,

thanks for the bird dogging Khoop!
Im looking to make the same mini/HDX/ sonnet jump.


dumb guy question...
why do you/we need a eGPU?


Cant the the Mini's TB ports handle the video monitoring?




thanks in advance!
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  #22  
Old 11-22-2018, 11:16 PM
~ufo~ ~ufo~ is offline
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Default Re: 2018 MacMini experiment on ProTools HDX

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Originally Posted by Guy McDude View Post
why do you/we need a eGPU?


Cant the the Mini's TB ports handle the video monitoring?
I think for most audio people, who don't do video work or gaming, the internal graphics will be fine. I'm not even sure if doing sound to picture will exceed the stock capabilities of the Mac Mini. But if you need it, you can use an eGPU.
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  #23  
Old 11-22-2018, 11:35 PM
Darryl Ramm Darryl Ramm is offline
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Default Re: 2018 MacMini experiment on ProTools HDX

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Originally Posted by Guy McDude View Post
why do you/we need a eGPU?

Cant the the Mini's TB ports handle the video monitoring?

thanks in advance!
Wrong question. Thunderbolt is a display connector (amongst other stuff), saying you have "Thunderbolt 3" tells you what display resolutions and display rates might be supported but tells you nothing about the graphics processing power actually available to draw those graphics. In this case the Mac Mini has no discrete GPU and is using the GPU in the Intel processor. While those have gotten a lot better in recent years it's still well below discrete high-end GPU performance. And while most folks likely won't need a discrete GPU, it's still a great question to ask does it help, esp. will high-end users benefit from one.

An eGPU uses the entire other part of Thunderbolt to connect a GPU over the PCI data link part of Thunderbolt.

The Mac Mini has two Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt chips so two complete separate Thunderbolt busses with two UCB-C rear-panel connectors on each bus. Hanging a eGPU on one bus will not affect audio on the other. Ideally testing to see what really helps will use an eGPU on its own dedicated bus. I like my Sonnet eGFX box, although I'm *not* using it with Pro Tools.
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  #24  
Old 11-23-2018, 10:50 PM
LDS LDS is offline
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Default Re: 2018 MacMini experiment on ProTools HDX

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Originally Posted by khoop2112 View Post
Yeah - I need to investigate how much of the sluggishness can be attributed to my 4k 65" TV. I did pick the TV with the lowest input lag but I know it's still not nearly as fast as a pure computer monitor. My other 32" 4k monitor is situated for my programming station, so I typically use Logic while on that monitor, I'll try some tests using PT.


I have spent the last few hours investigating a small GPU for my old cMP, and a lot of the forums are suggesting that when it comes to 4K... Mac kind of sucks at present. It probably doesn't help, but the problem may not be solely associated with HDX.
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  #25  
Old 11-24-2018, 02:37 PM
khoop2112 khoop2112 is offline
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Default Re: 2018 MacMini experiment on ProTools HDX

Did some GPU tests today. My main monitor is a 65" 4k TV running HDMI 2.0 @ 60hz, at 2560x1440 HiDPI. I noticed a little screen redraw improvement going from 2013 MacPro to 2018 Mini with BlackMagic RX580 eGPU.

I did 3 tests while ProTools was in playback with only the mix window showing:

- 2560x1440 HiDPI
- 1920x900 low res
- 2560x1440 standard

Nothing was present on my other two monitors.

You can see on the GPU window from Activity Monitor that the RX580 is at 100% usage at 2560x1440 HiDPI, and goes down from there. I tried a quick test on Logic Pro, and couldn't get it to 100%.

So - do I need a faster eGPU (Vega 56 or 64) or is ProTools just not ready for HiDPI yet?

- Kent
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  #26  
Old 11-24-2018, 03:04 PM
Darryl Ramm Darryl Ramm is offline
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Default Re: 2018 MacMini experiment on ProTools HDX

Edit: deleted my question. sorry I see you said only the mix window open. Ouch, damn that is not good.

You should test with a Vega 64... I'd love to know, and it's not my money
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  #27  
Old 11-24-2018, 03:22 PM
LDS LDS is offline
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Default Re: 2018 MacMini experiment on ProTools HDX

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Originally Posted by khoop2112 View Post

So - do I need a faster eGPU (Vega 56 or 64) or is ProTools just not ready for HiDPI yet?

- Kent
I would try running a big bunch of tests to try and narrow it down. What does the graph look like if you run the same test using the onboard graphics card rather than the eGPU?

What does the graph look like if you run the same tests with the onboard graphics and eGPU, but have the built-in audio selected in Pro Tools rather than HDX?

How does the CPU usage vary between those tests?
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  #28  
Old 11-24-2018, 03:28 PM
khoop2112 khoop2112 is offline
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Default Re: 2018 MacMini experiment on ProTools HDX

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Originally Posted by BScout View Post
That isn't the native for 4K
4k/65" at 2560x1440 isn't HiDPI

If you ran Pro Tools on the 5k iMac, you'd see what HiDPI is about.

Right now all you are doing is putting extra work on the GPU scaler.

Try your screen at native 3840×2160
I realize that but at the distance the monitor is at 3840x2160 is completely unreadable. 2560x1440 is the perfect resolution for me. And if you option-click on the display prefs panel, and display low resolutions, you can see 2560x1440 both low and HiDPI. It's confirmed by running the utility 'SwitchResX' and the way I typically run that monitor it's confirmed that it is HiDPI.

It's certainly not as clear as the 5k iMac, but it looks fantastic and more importantly, it's readable at the distance I have it from my chair.
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  #29  
Old 11-24-2018, 03:29 PM
khoop2112 khoop2112 is offline
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Default Re: 2018 MacMini experiment on ProTools HDX

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Originally Posted by LDS View Post
I would try running a big bunch of tests to try and narrow it down. What does the graph look like if you run the same test using the onboard graphics card rather than the eGPU?

What does the graph look like if you run the same tests with the onboard graphics and eGPU, but have the built-in audio selected in Pro Tools rather than HDX?

How does the CPU usage vary between those tests?

Great idea - I will try that in the next couple days.

Either way, so far the Mini is working at least as good as my 2013 MP, and better in some areas.
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  #30  
Old 11-24-2018, 03:31 PM
khoop2112 khoop2112 is offline
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Default Re: 2018 MacMini experiment on ProTools HDX

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Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm View Post
Edit: deleted my question. sorry I see you said only the mix window open. Ouch, damn that is not good.

You should test with a Vega 64... I'd love to know, and it's not my money
If I decide to keep the Mini, I will absolutely try it. Start a week of vocal tracking on some large 88.2k sessions. Did a vocal overdub on a 48k session Wednesday and it went perfectly. If after 2 days there are no issues tracking, I'm selling the 2013.
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